The Bastian Collection consists of clippings and other biographical
material, as well as original drawings and published copies of Bastian's two
books: Souvenir Book of San Francisco and
The Best of Bastian.

Background

Robert O. Bastian spent his early years in Stockton, Calif. In 1940 he
received a B.A. in Political Science from the College of the Pacific. Following
graduation, Bastian studied art with Dong Kingman at the San Francisco Art
Institute until the outbreak of World War II. After serving with the Marines in
the South Pacific, he worked in San Francisco as an advertising illustrator
until hired as editorial cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1953.
Bastian held this position until a 1968 strike forced him to seek other
employment. In that same year he was hired as cartoonist-in-residence by San
Francisco Public Broadcasting's KQED-TV for a nightly hour-long news program
called "Newsroom." Bastian's role on this program was to draw one cartoon each
night during the course of the show. KQED published a collection of his 1968/69
efforts as The Best of Bastian. Bob Bastian
committed suicide in 1970.